Report says Jackson school is safe

Source: Asbury Park Press, N.儲存倉J.Sept. 04--JACKSON -- Mold testing is nearly complete at a Citadel Drive elementary school where a fungal outbreak occurred earlier this summer.Environmental Design Inc. found small areas of mold growth in Jackson's Rosenauer Elementary School, mostly on cork boards, chairs and tables. The company's report was released Tuesday on Rosenauer's website.School officials say staff and a professional mold remediation company have worked to scour the building clean. The district on Tuesday did not have a cost estimate for the cleanup, and it was unclear whether insurance would cover those costs.But custodians at Rosenauer said Tuesday that, contrary to information released by the district last week, they had not been trained in mold remediation procedures.Theresa Friebel and Kelli Kalapos, both custodians at the school, said they have been instructed to clean the mold with rags and bleach."That is not the way you're supposed to clean mold," Friebel said.A third custodian was sick for weeks this summer with breathing problems that may have resulted from exposure, she added.The three "were never trained on mold cleaning and mold remediation," Kalapos said. "We don't hold the mold certificate."The two worried that the mold would return without sufficient cleaning.The cleaning crew noticed mold growing in May and worked through the summer to clean it, Friebel said. But soon, the mold was growing faster than they could remove it, she said."It was out of hand. We couldn't even keep up with it," Friebel said.The group's union -- Teamsters Local 97 -- notified the state Department of Health, Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health program on Aug. 2, they said."We're worried about these kids," Friebel said.Some parents of Rosenauer students said their children were unusually sick throughout the previous school year, and wondered if mold exposure was to blame.But Environmental Design Inc. found the building to be safe. No toxic "black mold" was found in the building, said Business Administrator Michelle Richardson in a notice posted to Rosenauer's website."Based on the visual and sampling data, it is EDI's professional opinion that no severe mold condition exists in the school and the building is迷你倉價錢safe for occupancy," the report stated. "There may be individuals with chronic respiratory or immune-compromised conditions and therefore they should consult their personal physician with these report results."The company attributed the mold growth to the building's 51-year-old air conditioning system, which does not have a humidistat, a device that regulates indoor air moisture.Humidity within the school was between 60 and 70 percent at the time of testing, the company found.School officials said a wet summer contributed to the problem.After a cleanup by staff and a private mold remediation company over the Labor Day weekend, the school was retested for mold on Tuesday, district spokeswoman Allison Erwin said.With results from EDI's report, "we are becoming more confident that we're going to be able to open Rosenauer on the first day of school as we expected to ... on Monday, Sept. 9," she said.If the school cannot open on time, Rosenauer students will take classes at Jackson Liberty High School, she said."We identified enough areas that we could accommodate them for a full school day," Erwin said.A final decision will not be made until later this week, when results from the Tuesday mold tests have been reviewed, she added.District officials will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Rosenauer Elementary School for parents to ask school officials, mold specialists and EDI representatives their questions.Richardson, the business administrator, wrote in a notice to parents: "We are committed to maintaining a safe environment for our students and would not hesitate to relocate them if it was necessary."But district officials think the move will not be necessary."In EDI's opinion, there is no severe mold condition that exists in the (Rosenauer) school and the building is safe for occupancy," Erwin said. "At this point, based on the testing that they did last week, and as a result of the cleanup efforts that have been going on... there doesn't appear to be a reason why we can't open for school."___Amanda Oglesby: 732-557-5701; aoglesby@njpressmedia.comCopyright: ___ (c)2013 Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.) Visit the Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.) at .app.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉